Relics of the Past
by Judanim
Summary: A new tournament in Battle City brings up things in Seto Kaiba's past that even he nearly forgot about. Rated PG-13 for slight swearing later on.
1. A New Battle City Tournament

Author's Note: Okay, before everyone goes and tries to kill me 'cause this fic is so horrendous and all the characters are OOC, I will say this is my FIRST (and possibly only if this goes sour) attempt at a Yu-Gi-Oh fic. Normally, I wouldn't be nervous about venturing into a new universe and screwing with canon, but YGO is something I still know very little about, so I could make this go horribly wrong. Please tell me this isn't crap, 'cause if it is I'm totally dropping it. Oh, and by the way, the current version of this story that you see here (or at least the first chaper of it) is like the third revision of this story so far. The other two were just...bad. So, yeah, let it be said that this could definitely be worse. At least that's a good thing...right? Heh-heh.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, nor am I affiliated with anyone who does. I own whatever you don't recognize, basically. Though there might be others that you don't recognize and I don't own either, but they're planned for later in the fic.

Additional Author's Note: No flames for any Mary Sue-type stuff, please! The original character here is a shinobi white mage for Ra's sake -immediately shuts her mouth as she realizes she's said too much- Okay, go read the story now -slowly walks away from the keyboard, slapping herself in the head all the while-

Relics of the Past  
by Judanim

Chapter One: _"A New Battle City Tournament"_

A twenty-one year-old Seto Kaiba sat silently as he watched people walk up to the new Battle City Tournament registration booths. He and Mokuba had decided to start a new tournament, but they definitely hadn't expected this big a turn out. From his seat he could see the competitors and almost immediately he could tell who were the strong, strategic duelists, and who were the ones just out to see if they could even keep up with everyone else.

Of course, this was all before Yugi Moto and his friends walked up to the booth. Seto inwardly groaned. It's not that they weren't on at least partly-friendly terms after all the stuff they'd been through together, but sometimes he was just annoyed by their constant cheerleading. He only hoped they didn't notice him now.

After Yugi was finished registering he looked over and spotted Seto. "Hey Kaiba!"

He sighed and shook his head. Too late. He gave a slight wave and tried not to look annoyed. The least he could do was be decent to Yugi, who after all had saved his butt on a few occasion. "Yugi."

"I think it was a good idea starting this new tournament. It might show people that Duel Monsters really isn't all that dangerous," Yugi replied. "Well, that and people might finally get the idea that you didn't have anything to do with all those monsters coming to life and running rampant throughout the world."

Seto waved a dismissive hand. "None of that inspired me. Mokuba and I just got bored."

Even though his normal arrogant tone had slipped through in that last statement, Yugi still managed to smile and nod, like he knew that Seto was lying to keep up his cool image. Problem was, he was probably right.

"Hey, Yug, let's go kick some amateur duelists' butt!" an overexcited Joey Wheeler called from near the booth. He seemed surprised to see the corporate executive just idly sitting nearby. "Kaiba? What are you doing here?"

"I'm hosting the tournament. What do you think I'm doing, Wheeler?" Seto shot back. He definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with Joey's annoying antics.

"That a challenge?" Joey exclaimed with shaking fists.

The CEO gave a short laugh. "Please. I don't know who the genius was that made Solitaire, but he still made it a lot harder than playing Duel Monsters with you."

For once, Joey didn't lash out. Instead, he played it cool...for some odd reason that only the gods could determine (and Seto was sure that even they might not know). "Usually, I'd say that them's fightin' words, but today I'll let it slide, since I know that you're really just playing it cool when you're actually not such a bad guy."

Everyone around them (including Seto and Yugi) raised an eyebrow. No one was sure which was a scarier thought: Seto being a "normal" guy, or Joey having the insight to notice it.

"Well, look what we have here? Joey's actually got some brains. Look out, Kaiba, Joey might just be the new big guy in town," a very feminine voice said from nearby, but just outside the group.

"Hey, thanks Mai, you mean it?" Joey asked, turning to the owner of the voice and trying to look confident.

Mai Valentine shook out her blonde hair and laughed a bit. "No. I just said that to scare Kaiba."

"Too bad it didn't work," Seto answered, rolling his eyes.

Their conversation was cut short by someone being practically thrown into their direction. Joey fell over from the impact, while Yugi managed to keep his balance, but was pushed forward a couple feet. They both turned around and helped whoever it was stand up. Because he was sitting down and the others were blocking the view, Seto couldn't see who it was, but he could see the look on Mai's face, and it was murderous. For once, the CEO was clueless as to why.

"I'm so sorry," the mysterious person said.

"It's all right. What happened?" Yugi asked.

Seto heard the shuffling to cards and readjusting of a Duel Disc. "Some rude guy pushed me out the way after I was just finished signing up for the tournament. I mean, I know this thing is a big deal, but is it that serious that people totally forget their manners?"

"Well some had none to begin with, you know what I'm sayin'?" Joey replied. "Did you see who pushed you anyway? 'Cause I'll pummel him for you, if you'd like."

"Some blonde muscle guy with sunglasses and an American flag for a bandana."

Instantly, the Kaiba Corp. executive recognized the description of Bandit Keith. He shook his head with a small laugh. It figured that guy would be so anxious to enter a tournament and attempt to get a shot at redemption. Of course, after being publicly trounced twice in Pegasus-related situations, it was almost impossible to come back.

"So you're here for the tournament too, hmm?" Mai asked. Her voice was coated with a poisonous honey, and she wasn't doing anything to hide it. This action seriously confused Seto. Of course, if he could see the face of the mysterious person, he might not be so bewildered.

An uncomfortable silence followed Mai's statement, the kind that has some kind of revelation hidden within its layers. As much as he hated to admit it, Seto really wanted to see the face of that person and find out exactly what the revelation was. It typically wasn't in his personality to do it, but something about this was nagging at him.

"Yeah, I am," the unknown person (who sounded very female as well) said. "But, unlike you, I earned my way to get here. I wasn't simply given the opportunity. I had to work for the registration money and the cards."

Seto saw Mai roll her eyes, as if she'd heard this speech before. Considering Mai's personality (or what he knew of it and what he'd seen in the past), she probably had. "Save it. You're just jealous."

"Jealous? Of you?" The stranger laughed. "Anyone who's jealous of you needs to get their head checked."

"Then it sounds like you are in serious need of a mental scan."

Through a small break in the bodies standing in front of him, Seto could see who he thought was the stranger clench her (at least he thought it was a woman) fists. For the first time in ages, he felt a confused look find its way upon his normally calm face. What in the world was going on here?

"We'll settle this in a duel," the mysterious individual retorted before stalking off. Seto tried to get a glimpse of her face, but Mai's turned back blocked his view. He cursed and leaned back in his chair.

Normally, he wouldn't care. Other people had their own problems; why should he get involved? This, however, was different somehow. That person was familiar. In fact, he almost recognized her voice. The only question was: Why?


	2. The Resolved Vendetta

Author's Note: Let me first say that this takes place some years after the main events of the show. I'd give it a good couple years, 'cause Seto and everyone are in their early twenties, late teens. I should've said it in the first chapter, but I totally forgot and assumed that when people saw Seto was, like, 21 they'd realize that. And, um, if isn't actually isn't possible to have a Battle City tournament some years after the main events of the anime/manga/whatever due to some plot device that I know nothing about, then this story is slightly AU. With all precautions in place, let's move on to the real point of this author's note...I thank those who reviewed kindly, because it makes me feel a lot better. I just hope I don't screw any of the dueling part up. I just got really into the card game itself recently, so there might be some (read: many!) kinks to work out. -takes in a deep breath- Well, here goes nothing.

Disclaimer: See _Chapter One_.

Relics of the Past  
by Judanim

Chapter Two: _"The Resolved Vendetta"_

The more populated sectors of the city during the tournament were the big squares that had more than enough room for several duels to go on simultaneously. Plus, there were many places for people to watch, and what many players dueled for was the attention. Seto found himself in one of these squares, doing the routine and mundane task of making sure none of the rules were being violated, and no one was trying to cheat anyone out of rightfully earned locator cards.

Mokuba stood beside him, taking a keen interest in one of the duels already in play. Seto thought it was a bit amateur, but the day was early. The better duels didn't happen until later. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mai watching the same duel Mokuba was, but she didn't seem to be all that interested in it. He wondered for a moment if it had anything to do with that confrontation from yesterday.

While Seto wasn't paying attention, Yugi had entered the square, worked his way through the crowd, and found Mai. They started idly comparing the amount of locator cards each had, probably trading stories so far as well. Seto, deciding this was boring to watch, turned his gaze to the opposite side of the square. For some reason, the crowd was starting to clear here. He narrowed his eyes to see a slender woman dressed in a pair of black gi pants with a green dragon going up the side of one leg and a white spaghetti strap tank top. He watched the wind rustle the dark blonde hair that cascaded down her back, and that's what brought a very strange thing to his attention. There was a katana at her waist. A split-second later, he also noticed several four-pointed shuriken situated on her belt. In all his years of dueling, and with all the insane people he had met, this had to have ranked in the top five.

"Seto, check out that duelist!" Mokuba yelled.

"Huh? Duelist?" Seto exclaimed. He hadn't even noticed the Duel Disc. He was all too focused on the arsenal of weapons attached to her hip! "Why would a duelist carry around a katana and shuriken?"

"I definitely don't know, but this can't be good," Mokuba answered, looking ready to intervene.

His big brother held him back. "She technically hasn't broken any rules yet, so there's really nothing we can do. But, let's wait it out." He examined her face a little more. "She looks like she's got a score to settle. I definitely wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of her vendetta."

The crowd had cleared enough that the woman finally reached Yugi and Mai. Then, a thought slowly dawned on him. What if this was the same woman from the day before, the one he couldn't see? If so, then he felt really sorry for Mai.

"I told you we'd settle this in a duel, and I'm here to make good on my promise," the woman said, looking straight at Mai with a lethal glare. "I just hope you're prepared."

Mai returned the attitude. She wasn't taking the challenge lightly, as Seto (and most others) had seen in the past. "I'm always prepared, and if you're any kind of duelist, then so are you."

The woman took a step forward and shuffled her deck. "I've been prepared for this for a long time."

As both women inserted their decks into their Duel Discs and drew their first cards, everyone around them was confused. Yugi met Seto's gaze from across the square, but the latter had no insight to provide, even in a glance. He was still trying to figure out exactly who this mystery woman was, and why she had a bone to pick with Mai. It, of course, probably had something to do with a history that they knew nothing about, which was also half the reason they were speaking in cryptic phrases. Well, that, and they probably didn't need to refer to the past events; they were all to familiar with the mere reference. He reminded himself to always settle any feud he might have when it started, otherwise he might end up like one of these two.

"The challenger goes first," the mysterious female began. "I'll play this card face-down and summon The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave in Defense mode. I believe that would make it your turn."

"Then I'll summon Harpie Lady in Attack mode! Next I'll equip my Harpie Lady with the Rose Whip and Cyber Shield magic cards, which makes her Attack higher than your monster's Defense," Mai answered. "Harpie Lady, destroy her dragon!"

Seto nodded in approval. Mai had a lucky first draw, but she hadn't taken into consideration the mysterious woman's face-down card. If it was a trap, things could get ugly.

The unknown person shook her head with a mischievous grin. "I can't believe you fell for it. A duelist of your supposed caliber should've known that I made it way too easy for you to attack. I activate my trap card, Shadow Spell! It decreases the Attack Points of your Harpie Lady by 700, making it no threat to my dragon."

Mai narrowed her eyes. "If your so confident, then make your next move." She definitely wasn't happy about losing 600 Life Points in the first round, especially when she had expected to terminate her opponent's only defense.

The challenger drew her card and looked quite happy to see it. "I'll play De-Spell, and take out your Cyber Shield, even further reducing your little monster's Attack power. Now I summon Lady Ninja Yae to the field, in Attack mode, and I'll equip her with the Fusion Sword Murasame Blade magic card, upping her power to a nice 1900." She turned her attention from her monsters to her adversary. "Now, Lady Ninja Yae, attack her Harpie Lady!"

The monster glady did the work, eliminating Mai's only defense, as well as one thousand of her Life Points.

"But that's not all," the still unascertained figure said, stopping Mai from drawing her next card, which she was about to do. "I switch my dragon to Attack mode. Now, Dragon Dwelling in the Cave, attack her Life Points directly!"

"Whoa! That was a brave move!" Mokuba exclaimed.

The corporate executive silently agreed. The only problem with that was, if Mai found a good enough monster, the dragon would be toast. Its defensive power far outweighed its attack power. The move was enough to take another good chunk out of Mai's Life Points, though.

"Not so confident now, are you? Good," the challenger said once the attack was over. "I'll put this card face down, and end my turn."

Mai visibly winced. She was not happy about this. She drew her next card and grinned. "I'll summon Harpie Lady in Attack mode! Next I'll play the magic card Elegant Egotist to summon another Harpie Lady. Then, I'll sacrifice both my Harpie Ladies to summon Harpie's Pet Dragon, and it's going to wipe the floor with your pathetic little ninja. Pet Dragon, attack!"

The challenger didn't look worried as her Lady Ninja Yae was destroyed. "Are you finished?"

The blonde nodded. "Your move."

As she drew her card, the unnamed woman looked very pleased. "I'll activate my face-down card, the monster Hane-Hane!"

Most of the duelists in the square, including Mai, donned clueless faces after this move. "And what are you going to do with that little squirt? Have him swat at my dragon?"

"No, he's going to remove your dragon! I activate Hane-Hane's special ability, which removes one monster from your side of the field and puts it back into your hand. And right now, you've only got one monster."

Even though Yugi was rooting for Mai, he still looked appreciative of that move. Any good duelist would, of course, even the usually unmovable Seto.

"Now, Dragon Dwelling in the Cave, finish her off!"

With a mighty roar, the dragon devoured the rest of Mai's precious Life Points, and won the duel for the one who summoned him. When the dust cleared, the scene was almost frozen in time, as if someone had come along and pressed the pause button. Neither woman was moving, just staring at the other as if nothing had happened at all.

"You won," Mai said quietly. "Satisfied?"

"For the moment," the winner of the duel replied. "I just wish winning meant I could turn back time and change everything that happened."

Mai's blank expression turned into a glare. "That's what this is all about?" She rolled her eyes. "Why take it out on me, then? It's not like I had anything to do with the decision. I was a kid, and so were you. Neither of us had any control of the situation. If we did, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Seto, for some reason unknown to him, was hanging on to every word of the conversation. The fact that they wouldn't say a word about what actually happened in the past, in addition to his desire to find out who this mysterious woman was and why he almost recognized her, probably made him more eager to listen, which was definitely unusual for him.

"But we are, and that's the point, Mai." She turned around and started walking away. Considering she just won a duel, and probably fulfilled a revenge wish, she didn't look happy.

"Kim, wait!" Mai called.

The CEO's eyes widened. Something in his brain clicked, like the last piece of a puzzle sliding into place. Of course! That's why he recognized her! He could only wonder if Mokuba picked up on it too.

The woman paused, but didn't turn around. She was waiting.

"I know there's a lot of bad blood between us, but can't we try to talk it out? We don't have to be enemies." Mai looked nervous. "The stuff that happened back then had nothing to do with us, we were just swept into it all. This feud doesn't have to go on forever."

Kim slowly turned around, a shuriken in hand. She expertly threw it, an unreadable expression in her eyes. Surprisingly, Mai caught it with just as much finesse as it had been thrown. "You haven't changed," she said.

"But I think you have," Kim replied. "By the way, you owe me a locator card. I didn't enter this tournament just to challenge you. I'm also in it to win."

Mai smiled and handed her a locator card. "I may be slightly egocentric, but I still wouldn't think _that_ highly of myself. Besides, I've learned not to underestimate you, especially after that match. Not bad for a rookie."

Kim pocketed the locator card. "I'll take that as a compliment coming from you."

As they started to walk off together, Seto watched Kim's back, shaking his head all the while. He looked over at Mokuba once they left. He was still watching them, even though they were out of the square.

"Was that who I think it was, Seto?" he asked, looking up at his brother.

Seto nodded. "I think so, Moki. I think so."

* * *

As he walked into the coffee shop, Seto felt very much like a stalker. It's not as though he followed Mai's friend all over town until she stopped somewhere. On the contrary, he merely sat at his laptop for a few hours and tracked her through her Duel Disc signal. When she finally stopped moving at the coffee shop, it was only then that he physically got up and followed her. The fact didn't shake his feeling, however. 

Pushing it aside at least for the moment, he looked around and saw her sitting all the way across the room absorbed in a newspaper. He was grateful for the newspaper, because that meant he could start the conversation his own way, instead of being pushed into it through awkward realization. He walked up to the counter, ordered a moccha latte (so he wouldn't seem like a stalker to anyone else), and waited. On her table, he now noticed, lay her katana, along with a couple of the shuriken. He shook his head. From the looks of things, no one else in the shop had either seen these items, or they did and just didn't care. He guessed it was the latter.

"Tall moccha latte?" the cashier called.

Seto got his drink, paid, and then began the slow walk over to her table. Blood was pounding in his ears, and he could feel his pulse quicken. He hadn't been this nervous in ages, if ever. He took in a deep breath and quietly pulled out a chair and started to sit down.

Even though he was practically silent, Kim folded up the newspaper and looked right at him. She had an eyebrow raised the entire time he took his seat. She didn't speak, just stared.

For a moment, Seto didn't have a clue as to what to say to her. He was partly still trying to figure out how she had heard him, but he eventually pushed it aside. It wasn't important enough to ponder for the instant. He took in another deep breath, and his brain decided to work again. He was so unsure of himself, but he had to start the conversation somewhere. "It's been a long time."

She still didn't speak. She merely stared, seemingly contemplating his existence and possible reasons for being there, but not once betraying any sort of emotion.

Her silence made him even more nervous.

* * *

-big sigh of relief- Whoo! That dueling part could've been ugly. I really hope it wasn't. I kind of just studied a couple of Mai's Duelist Kingdom bouts to get her stuff, and partly went through my own deck to create Kim's strategy. A big credit goes to Itstimetoduel(dot)com 'cause they have just about every card listed in their database, and it definitely helped me out. And I know I followed a little too closely to the rules of the TCG, but go with it...please? Anyway, criticism is definitely welcome, just as long as you review. 


	3. Glimpses of Memory

Author's Note: Let me say now, that I apologize for any liberties taken with any of characters' personalities in this chapter. For example, Mai may seem a little more apologetic and Seto may seem more talkative than usual. If these things do indeed happen, then I am sorry, but it cannot be changed because these things are done for the good of the story. Anyway, I want to send a big thank you to Rune-Sorceress for reviewing all of the chapters and being (seemingly) completely honest in her reviews, as well as taking the time to even review. Okay, enough of the mushy stuff, onto the disclaimer so I don't get sued. -glances protectively at her PS2, YGO cards, GBA games, and all her Final Fantasy paraphernalia-

Disclaimer: See _Chapter One_, 'cause I still don't own anything except Kim.

Relics of the Past  
by Judanim

Chapter Three: _"Glimpses of Memory"_

Yugi struggled to keep up with Mai, who he had just tracked down after a couple more duels not far from the square where that morning's events took place. "Wait up!" he yelled. Not too far behind him were Joey, Tristan Taylor, and Tea Gardner. Normally they could outpace Yugi due to their height advantage, but the little guy had a mission in mind. He wanted to find out about that woman who beat Mai earlier.

Mai finally paused across the street from a coffee shop and turned around to face Yugi. "What's up?"

The shorter boy was gasping for air by the time he caught up to her. He looked at his friends behind him as an indication that he could hardly breathe, no less talk.

"Yugi wanted to ask you about that chick you dueled earlier," Joey said. "Like, who was she?"

She stared at him for a moment and then shook her head. "Why should I tell you?"

"We're your friends, right?" Tea ventured. "It wouldn't be so bad to tell us...would it?"

"All right. But first we have to wait. I won't tell a story while someone is wheezing to death," Mai replied, indicating to Yugi.

It wasn't long before Yugi was able to breathe normally again, and Mai started her story.

* * *

Mokuba left the Kaiba Corp. office after fixing some bugs in the system. He had tried getting a hold of Seto, because his brother knew more about the software than he did, but for some reason he wasn't answering his cell phone. So, he had to resort to drastic measures by using the GPS locator to find Seto's phone. This action had led him to a small intersection with a coffee shop on one corner across the street from his spot. At another cross-street, he noticed, was Yugi's gang of friends, which seemed to include Mai at the moment.

The younger Kaiba brother swiftly cross the street and stopped just before the group would see him. He listened in on the conversation after briefly hearing the female duelist from the morning mentioned. Immediately he put his search for Seto on hold. This was one dialogue he wanted to hear.

* * *

"So do you want to hear the short or long version?" Mai asked.

Yugi shrugged. "Whichever you want to tell first."

"If they both turn out the same, I'm up for popcorn either way," Joey stated with a grin.

Both Tristan and Tea rolled their eyes. "Will you not think about your stomach for once?" Tristan practically pleaded, as he had many times in the past.

Joey gave his best friend an apologetic glance, but focused most of his remorse on Mai. "Sorry. Go on."

Mai couldn't help the small smile that escaped her lips, but quickly fixed it. "I'm not sure which version this is, but here goes." She took in a deep breath, and gathered together the pieces of the past that were scattered throughout her mind. "When I was just a kid, my parents died due to...an accident. Their will stated that both me and my sister be left to our grandparents on our mom's side, who were the only ones left, but the court ruled that they could only take one of us. I suppose it was because they were getting on in their old age, and they could only handle one child or whatever. Anyway, guess which one they chose?"

Judging by the look on her face, Yugi knew the answer. "You, huh? So, what happened to your sister?"

"I don't know," Mai answered, sadness clouding her lavender eyes. "But that woman I dueled earlier, Kim, that was her. She's my sister."

* * *

In the shadows of the building, Mokuba's eyes widened and he muttered a curse. All this time, he and Seto had known Kim's sister? And they had thought for all these years that they would never hear from or see her again, and there was a link staring them right in the face! He had to tell Seto, if only he could find him!

Suddenly, his cell phone went off, loud and clear. He could only hope the group hadn't heard it. He checked the caller ID to see that it was Roland and quickly answered it. The assistant had more questions about the tracking software, but Mokuba got rid of him by telling him to try calling Seto instead, claiming total ignorance to the issue. What a laugh that was, of course. He hung up and leaned against the building, his mind trying to process several pieces of information at once, but he didn't really get the chance.

"Mokuba? What are you doing here?" came Yugi's voice.

Slowly, he turned around to see the entire group staring suspiciously at him. "Uh, hi guys, I was just out looking for Seto. Have any of you seen him?"

Judging from the looks on their faces, none of them completely believed his story, even if it was partly true.

"What are you actually doing out here?" Tea deadpanned.

"Eavesdropping, I bet," Tristan suggested.

At this statement, Mai didn't look happy, but didn't say anything for the moment.

Mokuba suddenly had a fear for his life after seeing the look in Mai's eyes. "I haven't been dropping no eaves, honest!" he exclaimed, hoping like hell that they'd believe him.

Joey raised an eyebrow. "You've seen _The Lord of the Rings_ too many times, you know that?"

"Well, if you can recognize the line, then you've seen it a lot more than I have," Mokuba shot back.

"Enough!" Mai interrupted. "What did you hear?"

The raven-haired teenager tried to think of a lie to cover up, but finally decided to try to truth. It couldn't hurt. Well, all right, it possibly could, but it'd be better than lying about it...hopefully. "Something to the extent of you and your sister being separated because of your parents' deaths."

Mai looked seriously at him, the angry fire in her eyes lessening slightly. "Why were you even listening? Why would you care about what happened in my past?"

"Um, 'cause I kind of know your sister," Mokuba said honestly.

* * *

The coffee shop was mostly empty by the time either Seto or Kim had found any other words to say. The sky outside was slowly turning pink and orange, a good indication that they'd been silent for too long.

"Where have you been all this time?" Seto finally asked, breaking the stalemate of silence. "After we left, I tried to get some information about you, but I couldn't find anything. It was almost as if you disappeared into thin air. Were you ever...?" He knew he didn't have to finish the sentence.

"No," Kim answered, saying her first word since he sat down. "When I was old enough, I went out on my own. I found an old family friend to stay with, and started up my training." She indicated to the katana that still lay still and almost forgotten on the table. "Becoming a shinobi was one of the few things that kept me from losing my mind entirely after my parents died. I'm not sure how Mai got along, but apparently she turned out fine without it."

Seto felt his confusion set in again. "What does Mai have to do with any of this? When you dueled her earlier, you looked like you had revenge in mind. What happened?"

A genuine smile crossed Kim's face. "I never knew you were this slow, Seto. Mai's my sister."

"Sister?" Seto felt like scratching his head. "Then why wasn't she"

"That would be a story that I don't feel like getting into at the moment," Kim cut in. "It was part of the reason why I was dueling her this morning. I had a score to settle, but I'm not really sure it was actually with her. I guess she was the first person I could think of to take all those years of frustration out on, even though I might have been wrong to do so."

Slowly, Seto came to grips with the implications and possibilities in her words. "Oh." He looked into her eyes, but found that she just as quickly ceased the visual contact. He wanted to ask her either about that or one of the other million questions in his mind, but he resorted to staring at the katana. "At least you used your Duel Disc instead of your blade to settle the score."

Kim nodded. "At the least. If I'd been in any less control of my emotions, I might've gone to that length. I can't say that I haven't considered the option in the past. The only thing that's ever stopped me is the fact that Mai is indeed my sister, and I couldn't betray a family bond like that, especially when the whole thing wasn't her fault."

"I've been there," Seto said. "It takes a long time to realize the truth, that you're just looking for someone to blame, and the person on whom you've sworn vengeance isn't that person. Sometimes it's yourself, other times it's just one big intangible mess."

"If I'm not mistaken, you just admitted that you were, at some point, wrong." Kim cocked an eyebrow upwards, at least partly looking him in the eye. "Who are you and what have you done with Seto? You may look just like him, but the real Seto never would've admitted that he was ever wrong, unless of course by some strange turn of events he had an eye-opening experience that he just doesn't want to tell me about."

Seto shook his head, his lips curled into a slight smirk. "It's a long story, which I'd also like to omit, if you don't mind." He caught and met her gaze full on, and this time she didn't turn away. She seemed more confident, more comfortable now than before.

She gave a quiet laugh. "All right, all right. Fair is fair, I guess."

For a long time they just sat there, enjoying each other's company. They didn't have to talk, really. Just merely being there was enough for the moment. The silence was almost comforting in a way.

The corporate executive, who for the first time in years had let down his guard in front of someone other than Mokuba, switched his gaze from the woman in front of him to the coffee shop's window. Outside, the daylight was waning, the light hues of pink and orange turning to deeper shades of gold and red. A few cars passed by, but for the most part the street was empty, save for a couple pedestrians who seemed to be unaware of the existence of the shop. He was grateful for this. He would rather not be disturbed right now; he was trying to put work for as long as he could to spend the most time with his almost lost friend.

Across the street, though, there was an odd sight that was out of place with the nearly serene surroundings. A group of people stood on a corner, conversing almost furtively, huddled together like they had something to hide. Immediately he picked out two faces he would've recognized in his sleep: his brother Mokuba and his rival Yugi. He suppressed a groan of irritation. How in Ra's name did they always find him? He had turned off his cell phone to avoid his company and his brother, and then cloaked the signal from his Duel Disk just for safety. He shook his head and looked away from the scene, wondering what more he could've done to shake them off.

"What is it?" Kim asked upon seeing Seto shake his head.

"The dork patrol is here," he replied, indicating to the window.

With an eyebrow raised, she turned around to see the group, picking out Mai instantly. Briefly she wondered how he knew her sister, but ignored the thought for the moment. She scanned the small crowd and was surprised to see a figure that she knew to be Seto's brother. "Is that Mokuba?"

Seto nodded. "Yeah, all grown up, though sometimes I swear he acts like a kid."

"Wow," Kim said, just a little surprised. "He looks a lot like you, you know. I didn't really notice it when we were younger, but now I can definitely tell." She turned back to him. "Think we should go out and greet them?"

The CEO made a sign in the negative. "I'd rather not have an encounter with them if I can help it." It wasn't his only reason, of course. Going out and meeting them might mean having to separate from Kim again, which would bring about the possibility that he would lose her again. He wanted to hold on to this time for as long as was conceivable, to fend off reality until fate decided to intervene. Not that he believed in fate or anything.

Kim say the look in his eyes, which more or less told her that he was hiding his true feelings. She briefly let a grin cross her face and wondered what his thoughts were. He didn't seem to be that different from when she'd known him all those years ago, but he could just be putting on a front for her. She put aside the thought. Seto wasn't one to play games, and he definitely wouldn't play them with her. "So, um, Seto, how do you know Mai?"

"We met briefly at Duelist Kingdom," Seto replied after a moment's pause. "Then a little more during the last Battle City tournament. It's really more of a 'I've seen her a few times and know that she's a pretty good duelist' kind of thing. Not like I've had tons of conversations with her or anything."

"Oh." She was beginning to ask him a question when the doors to the coffee shop burst open. The other patrons and employees looked surprised, but the look on Seto's face was pure dread.

He resisted the urge to either bang his head against the table or throttle his little brother, who had been the one to run into the shop like a wild maniac.

Slowly, Mokuba regained his composure, waving uncomfortably at everyone who stared at him. He walked over to their table and sat down in between the two. "So, this is where you've been," he said to Seto.

The Duel Monsters genius stayed silent for a moment, casting a meaningful glance at Kim. "Yes, Mokuba, I've been here. Do you mind?"

"Actually I kind of do," Mokuba answered, grinning like the smart alec he'd just made himself out to be. "See, Roland has been bugging me about the tracking software, and you know a lot more about it then I do."

Seto didn't hide his vexation this time. He rolled his eyes and was two steps away from glaring daggers at his brother. "You know enough to fix any bugs. You're just trying to get out of being stuck in the office for a few more hours than usual."

Mokuba nodded. "That's about right." He finally noticed Kim and went wide-eyed. "Kim! It really is you!"

Kim shook her head, glancing between the Kaiba brothers. "Who'd you think it was, the Tooth Fairy?"

"No!" the younger one exclaimed defensively. "I stopped believing in that stuff ages ago." He looked around the shop with shifty eyes, a nervous smile on his face.

There was a long pause as Mokuba's discomfort increased. Then the older two burst into laughter, the male of the pair relishing his brother's embarrassment. Mokuba folded his arms over his chest with an air of indignation.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"Anytime," Seto laughed, patting his brother's shoulder.

After a moment, Kim was relatively calm again, but still smiling a bit at Mokuba's red face. "You know, maybe we shouldn't laugh at him. There are just some childhood habits that die hard."

"You're right." Seto took in a deep breath and tried to avoid Kim's eyes. He fought a grin while also attempting to not look at Mokuba. Kim was trying to do the same thing.

As they both were trying to look in opposite directions, their eyes met. At first, nothing happened. Then, both struggled to supress laughter, which ended up coming out as little snickers between breaths. Once they had taken one glance at the raven haired teenager, it was all over. They ended up laughing so hard that neither of them could scarcely breathe, and Mokuba's face was bright red.

He thought for a moment, though. He looked at Seto, who was currently reclining over the back of his chair, head thrown back in laughter. He hadn't seen his brother act like this in years, especially around someone other than him. His embarrassment faded a bit, and he smiled as he mused a thought.

Seto Kaiba was laughing like a maniac.


End file.
